Groundwater Availability
Groundwater Availability
One of the scientific strengths of the WA WSC is the sophisticated hydrologic analyses we provide to better assess water availability across Washington State, including watershed to regional-scale assessments of groundwater availability; development of computer models to simulate groundwater flow for current and potential future conditions; and compilation of detailed groundwater use data. The tools and information we produce help our partners more effectively manage and allocate groundwater and surface-water resources.
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Little Spokane Hydrogeology
The Issue: Groundwater is an important resource for domestic, commercial, and agricultural usage in the Little Spokane River Basin, and groundwater discharge helps maintain streamflow in area streams. Consequently, as the population grows, and commercial and agricultural activity increase, so does the demand for groundwater. However, the quantity of usable groundwater, and the potential effects of...
Chimacum GW Model
Projected increases in population and development in northeastern Jefferson County, Washington, are expected to lead to increased groundwater withdrawals in the Chimacum Creek Basin. Changes in land use and climate could reduce groundwater recharge, thereby reducing groundwater available for drinking and for baseflow to streams that host endangered fish species. The USGS is developing quantitative...
Chamokane Framework and Model
Chamokane Creek Basin is a 179-square-mile area that borders and partially overlaps the Spokane Indian Reservation in southern Stevens County in northeastern Washington State. In 1979, all water rights in the Chamokane Creek Basin were adjudicated by a Federal court, which gave senior, reserved water rights to the Spokane Tribe of Indians for irrigation and protection of fish in Chamokane Creek...
NWIFC Water Assessment
Water resources are essential to Native American Tribes in western Washington for instream and out-of-stream uses. As the demand for water across the region increases, western Washington Tribes need critical information about water availability, water use, and ecological needs for water in order to manage their resources. To assess tribal water resources comprehensively in western Washington, the...
Johns Creek Framework
Located in Mason County in western Washington State, Johns Creek is an important producer of coho and chum salmon. In 1984, the Washington State Department of Ecology established an Instream Resources Protection Program for Water Resource Inventory Area 14 (WAC 173-514) to retain sufficient in-stream flow to protect fish and wildlife, scenic, aesthetic and other environmental values. This program...
Hood Canal
In September 2002, fish in Hood Canal near Hoodsport were under stress from low concentrations of dissolved oxygen, prompting the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife to temporarily close parts of Hood Canal to some types of fishing during the month of October. In 2003, low dissolved oxygen conditions worsened, some fish kills were observed as early as June, and by October large fish...
Yakima River Basin
The Yakima River flows 215 miles from the outlet of Keechelus Lake in the central Washington Cascades southeasterly to the Columbia River, draining an area of 6,155 square miles. The Yakima River Basin is one of the most intensively irrigated areas in the United States. Population in the Yakima River Basin was about 238,000 in 1990. Increasing demands for water for municipal, fisheries...
Columbia Plateau Groundwater Availability Study
The Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System (CPRAS) covers about 44,000 square miles of eastern Oregon and Washington and western Idaho. The primary aquifers are basalts of the Columbia River Basalt Group and overlying basin-fill sediments. Groundwater availability issues in the basin include: 1) widespread water-level declines caused by pumping, 2) reduction in base flow to rivers and associated...
Bainbridge Island
Ground water is the sole source of drinking water for the City of Bainbridge Island in Kitsap County, Washington. As the population grows, demand for ground water grows, too. However, because ground water is limited by area and by the potential for seawater intrusion, the City recognizes in the Water Resources Element of its comprehensive plan that water resources must be carefully managed and...
Quilcene Bay
In response to concerns that increased use of ground- and surface-water supplies in watersheds in Washington leaves insufficient in-stream flow for fish and other users, the Washington State legislature passed the Watershed Management Act of 1998, which encourages watershed planning at the local level. As part of this planning, stakeholders within a Water Resources Inventory Area (WRIA) need to...
Chehalis River Basin
The Chehalis River flows approximately 125 miles in southwestern Washington north-northwesterly to Grays Harbor and the Pacific Ocean, draining an area of approximately 2,700 square miles. The Chehalis River Basin is the second largest basin in Washington State. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the east by the Deschutes River Basin, on the north by the Olympic Mountains, and on...
Skagit Ground Water Model
State and local water-resource managers in Lower Skagit/Samish Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA-3) face two water-availability issues that are common throughout Washington State. First, they must reserve water for domestic wells that are exempt from the water rights system without harming river and stream ecosystems in the lower Skagit River basin. Skagit County, which would be responsible for...